Colleges

Ex-Gator, 3 players questioned

Three Florida football players have been questioned in connection with a shooting outside a Gainesville nightclub early Sunday.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published October 2, 2007

GAINESVILLE - Three Florida football players have been questioned in connection with a shooting outside a Gainesville nightclub early Sunday.

Gainesville police would not identify the players but confirmed they, along with former Gator and current Jacksonville Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson, have been interviewed about their knowledge of the events.

None are considered suspects.

"We have questioned a number of people, including Reggie Nelson, including some UF athletes, and a number of citizens," police spokesman Sgt. Keith Kameg said. "We have no suspects. They are not wanted in connection with anything. We are looking for information."

Corey T. Smith, 28, and Justin Glass, 19, were in a stopped car at W University Avenue and NW 13th Street when Smith was shot in the head. Glass, who was driving, was shot in the arm by someone who walked up to the car and fired several times from a handgun, police said. They had been at the Venue nightclub.

The men drove to the hospital, and police said Smith is in serious condition.

The Florida players were questioned between 10 a.m. and noon Sunday, Kameg said.

Nelson issued a statement via the Jaguars on Monday.

"I know my name has been mentioned in the media today concerning an unfortunate incident that took place this weekend in Gainesville," the statement read. "I want to make it clear that I was not involved with this incident."

Nelson was in town for the Florida-Auburn game because the Jaguars were off. His name came up via witness interviews as having been around the victims during the course of the night, police said.

"We cannot say definitively they were in the club," Kameg said of the UF players. "Their names came up from people in a crowd. We wanted to verify some stories."

MOVING ON:Forget about the upset loss to Auburn. Forget about trying to upset No. 1 LSU. Forget, even, about playing for or winning an SEC championship. And the BCS? Don't even go there.

That's the general message the football team has been given this week. The mantra is: forget about everything except getting better.

The process began with a team meeting Monday morning.

"It was very intense," senior safety Tony Joiner said. "It was about us and what we need to do to get back on track. It was similar to last season after the Auburn loss, but a lot more straight-forward. You can tell (coach Urban Meyer) is a lot more strict about everything we're doing wrong. He's not playing around anymore."

Last season, Meyer would take a few moments each Monday to talk with his team about the national college football scene. Meyer's theory was this: Players are going to watch the rankings and BCS standings anyway, so why not get it out in the open with their own head coach, address it and then move on.

"This year there is none (talk) whatsoever, just because we're not at that point," Meyer said. "We're a team that needs to tighten up coverage, and we need to get that punter lined up the right way. We don't need to waste time talking about other things. We're not putting our caps on backward for rally caps. We just have to get better."

Now would be a good time. LSU leads the nation in rushing and passing defense and is No. 2 nationally in total defense.

TRAUTWEIN OUT FOR SEASON: Senior offensive lineman Phil Trautwein will miss the season because of a fractured right foot sustained during preseason drills in August. Trautwein, a preseason All-SEC selection, was supposed to anchor a veteran line. Meyer has said he would remain optimistic of Trautwein's return until it became clear he could not play. He can redshirt.

[Last modified October 1, 2007, 23:53:19]